BIG LIST: A talented bunch

BIG LIST: A talented bunch

Friday 17 June 2011, 12:49AM

Tu Jin-Sheng: Crotch of iron

Perhaps Kung Fu magazine puts it best: “When a man can tow a truck with his genitals, that’s all anyone ever really remembers about him.” Tu Jin-Sheng, a 50-year-old man from Taiwan, can do exactly that.

In 2005 this martial arts grandmaster of Iron Crotch – a branch of Qigong said to have 60,000 followers worldwide – attached his manhood to a truck for a demonstration, and pulled it several yards across a car park in Fremont.

Miroslaw Magola: Magnetic man

Reminding one of scenes from The Matrix, Miroslaw Magola – the “Magnetic Man” – apparently defies laws of gravity with an extraordinary ability by using “mind control” to transport objects through the air and affix them to his body.

Miroslaw explains that he employs “psychokinetics” to perform these uncanny feats. “It works because I load myself with energy and at the same time I wish for the object to rise.”

Miroslaw has undergone numerous tests of his perplexing skill which remains unexplained by conventional science to date. It should be notes that some still question his abilities.

Manjit Singh: Pulls a jet with his ears

57 year-old Manjit Singh, aka “Ironman”, holds more than 30 world records including pulling a double decker bus with his hair, lifting 85 kg with his ears, and if that wasn’t enough, pulling a jet with his ears to raise charity money.

In April 2007, Singh pulled the aircraft – weighing approximately 7.4 tonnes – four metres at the East Midlands Airport in the UK. Speaking after the record attempt, he said: “I don’t feel too bad, I have a little bit of pain around the ears but I’m ok.”

Ru Anting: Tearful art

Fifty six year-old Chinese man Ru Anting has a very special talent: he can write calligraphy with water he shoots from his eyes. After sucking up water through his nose, he then sprays it through his tear ducts and onto paper.

Ru discovered his unusual talent as a child while swimming in a river. “Sometimes I would swallow water while swimming, and once I accidentally discovered the water I swallowed could be shot out through my eyes. My friends were all shocked to see it,” he said. After three years of intensive practice, he found he could shoot water accurately for distances of more than three metres.

Michel Lotito: Eats the odd plane

French entertainer Michel Lotito is known as Monsieur Mangetout (Mister Eat-it-all). As a famous consumer of indigestables, Lotito’s performances include eating metal, glass and rubber. He can even claimto have eaten an entire aeroplane. The Cessna 150 took roughly two years to be “eaten” – from 1978 to 1980.

Lotito apparently does not often suffer from ill-effects due to his diet, even after the consumption of materials usually considered poisonous.

Thai Ngoc: Sleepless nights

64-year-old Thai Ngoc has counted more sheep than perhaps the entire world combined. The Vietnamese farmer is known for a unique talent: he needs no sleep. After getting a fever in 1973, Thai hasn’t been able to sleep for more than 11,700 consecutive nights.

“I don’t know whether the insomnia has affected my health or not. But I’m still healthy and can farm normally like others,” Ngoc said.

Proving his health, the elderly resident of Que Trung commune, Que Son district, said he can carries two 50-kilo bags of fertiliser four kilometres every day.

Zhang Quan: Roaring applause

70 year-old Zhang Quan of China is hoping to get into the record books – by clapping his hands. His claps have been recorded as measuring 107 decibels, just three decibels lower than whirling helicopter blades.

The bad news: Local environmental protection officials say Zhang is so loud, he could face arrest for noise pollution if he claps too often.

Paul Oldfield: World’s Only Flatulist

Former train driver Paul Oldfield doesn’t operate under the alias “Mr Methane” for no reason. The Englishman claims to be the only performing professional flatulist in the world or, more colloquially, a “professional farter”.

His ‘talent’ came to light when he accompanied his sister in yoga practice. There, he discovered – to his surprise and delight – that he was able to take in air through his rear end, retain it, and then expel it as and when he chose. At first, it was nothing more than a party trick to entertain fellow railwaymen, but eventually Mr Methane found that by careful control, he could pick out a simple tune.

He gradually expanded his repertoire, which now ranges from Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz through to Kylie Minogue’s I Should Be So Lucky. In 1991, he left his job at British Rail and devoted himself to his new entertainment career, which now has him travelling around the world. On stage, he wears a skin-tight green-and-purple costume with cape and mask, looking like a superhero.

Wei Mingtang: Inflating auditories

This 55-year-old is a factory worker from Guilin city, in Guangxi province, China. About 30 years ago he discovered his ears leaked air, so he came up with the idea of using his ears and a pipe for his now famous act: inflating balloons with his ears.

During a recent Spring Festival Party in Guilin, Wei also blew out 20 candles in a line within 20 seconds using a hose leading out from his ears.